Andy Theyers believes it’s no accident that almost all of Isotoma’s work comes from referrals; after all, they have eleven years of happy customers recommending them. Isotoma has won those happy customers by building bespoke software to meet the complex challenges that those customers face, producing innovative applications that add real long term value to their businesses.

Mr Theyers, who co-founded Isotoma with Doug Winter back in 2005, says Isotoma builds for their customers’ customers; "We believe the key element in the kind of bespoke software we build is the user experience. Everything is tailored to suit you and your end-users."

Mr Theyers and Mr Winter first met as undergraduates at the University of York, before working together at York-based Infocom (now Piksel) for a short spell back in 1996. There they built the first online supermarket in the UK, as well as the first website for the Premier League. They stayed in touch, and decided to work together again in 2005 when they launched Isotoma.

Since its creation Isotoma has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands - building bespoke applications for among others HarperCollins, The BBC, Channel 4, Sony, Nokia, O2, Vodafone and HSBC - as well as some truly innovative start ups, many of which have gone on to successful acquisitions or stock market flotations. That is Mr Theyers' area of expertise - helping start ups take their ideas through the business planning phase and on to real working software that their customers are actually paying for.

In 2015 Isotoma opened city centre offices in York to house the current team of 30, and to proudly show off the city to their clients, as well as a new office in Manchester for the growing team there.

Mr Theyers was an early evangelist of Open Source Software, and Isotoma continues to favour that approach as it ensures customers have real choice and real freedom, without huge ongoing licence fees. He says: "Our aim is to deliver the right solution; one that meets our customer’s needs, fits their budget and delights their customers."

What job would you like to have other than your own and why?

"A lumberjack. Obviously."

Greatest achievement?

"We care about our culture here at Isotoma, so when a group of external consultants that we've recently been working with took me to one side to tell me that in their view we had the most positive corporate culture they had ever seen I took that as a great achievement. We've been working very hard towards this over the last few years; happy people, particularly in software, are the most critical factor in successful projects."

What makes you most angry?

"Politics. A dangerous topic at the best of times, but recently even more so. We're a very polarised society at the moment, and it only feels like it's going to get worse for the next few years."

Biggest mistake?

"It took me too long to go into business with Doug Winter. We'd been talking about it for years before I finally agreed to take the leap. I'm the cautious one."

What do you need to make life complete?

"My family. My health. And beer. I like beer."

Why do you make a difference?

"There is a huge information gap between customers and suppliers in our industry. I like to think that we bridge that gap in such a way that allows our customers to get the most out of their investments in technology without constantly worrying about whether or not they've chosen the right partner."

Epitaph?

"He finally finished something"